News Release

Scripps Research Institute Appoints Two Noted Harvard Scientists

JUPITER,
FL – December 13, 2012 – The Scripps Research Institute (TSRI) has appointed Professor
Michael R. Farzan and Associate Professor Hyeryun Choe to the faculty on its
Florida campus.

Prior
to joining Scripps Florida this month, both were on the faculty at Harvard
Medical School.

“It is a pleasure to welcome Michael and Hyeryun,” said Peter K. Vogt, executive vice president and chief scientific officer of TSRI. “Both are involved in critical research that will help us advance the diagnosis and treatment of HIV and other devastating viral infections that need to be conquered and defeated.”

“I’m honored to join Scripps Florida,” Farzan said,
“I’m genuinely excited by the compound discovery opportunities at Scripps
Florida, and hope to develop new opportunities and new directions for my
laboratory. I was drawn to Scripps Florida for its new technologies, and for
its investigators with different disciplines.”

Choe said, “I’m extremely pleased to become part of Scripps
Florida. Over the years, my laboratory has been moving from basic to more
translational science, and Scripps Florida has a great reputation in both. I’m
looking forward to working with other scientists, particularly medicinal
chemists, in developing new therapeutic approaches to viral infection.”

Michael R. Farzan

Farzan’s research is focused on uncovering the
process by which various viruses, including HIV-1 and SARS coronavirus, enter
target cells and the immune system’s response to this event. Farzan is also
working to find ways to enhance these immune responses. For example, his lab
identified the cellular receptor for the SARS virus, a key post-translational
modification of CCR5 necessary for HIV-1 infection, and a family of innate
immune factors that prevent viruses from entering cells.

He has shown that some antibodies mimic certain host
receptors, an important finding since such similarities make it more difficult
for the virus to escape the body’s immune response. Farzan is currently
investigating these antibodies, their role in controlling long-term infection,
and how to better draw them out. His long-term goal is to find an appropriate
combination of antibody and antibody-like molecules to provide long-term
protection from HIV-1 infection following a single inoculation.

Farzan received a bachelor’s degree from Harvard
College in 1984 and a PhD in Immunology from Harvard Medical School in 1997. He
was a postdoctoral fellow in the Department of Cancer Immunology and AIDS at
the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute in Boston.

Farzan joined Harvard Medical School as an
instructor in the Department of Pathology in 1999. In 2002, he was named an assistant
professor in the Department of Medicine and, in 2005, an assistant professor in
the Department of Microbiology and Molecular Genetics. In 2007, he was promoted
to associate professor and, in 2012, to professor.

Among Farzan’s honors are the Richard A. Smith Prize
for outstanding research at Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, the Burroughs
Wellcome Fund Investigators in Pathogenesis of Infectious Disease Award, and a
Kavli Fellowship from the National Academy of Sciences and The Kavli Foundation.

Hyeryun Choe

Choe has focused on identifying the processes by which
enveloped viruses enter their target cells. That focus has led to the
identification of a number of key factors essential for entry of HIV-1, SARS
coronavirus and a number of hemorrhagic fever viruses.

Among her significant research is a 2007 Nature paper that reported the identification of a key receptor for
pathogenic New World arenaviruses—Machupo, Junin,
Guanarito and Sabia, which cause hemorrhagic fever and significant casualties
in various regions of South America. The team was also able to show that iron
depletion enhances, and iron supplementation slows, infection by these viruses,
suggesting iron supplement as a possible treatment.

Choe received a bachelor’s degree from Seoul
National University in Korea in 1977 and a master’s degree in 1980. She was
awarded a PhD from Pennsylvania State University in 1984, and subsequently
conducted postdoctoral work at Harvard Medical School.

In 1997, Choe was appointed as an instructor at the
Dana-Farber Cancer Institute and Harvard Medical School. In 2000, became an
assistant professor at Children’s Hospital and Harvard Medical School.

Choe was the second most cited scientist for
research published in 1996-7 as reported by Thomson Reuters' Essential Science Indicators
Science Watch; in 2002, she was named a Prominent Scientist by the
Society for Biomedical Research.

Farzan
and Choe both live in Juno Beach.

About The Scripps Research Institute

The Scripps Research Institute (TSRI) is one of the world's largest independent, not-for-profit organizations focusing on research in the biomedical sciences. TSRI is internationally recognized for its contributions to science and health, including its role in laying the foundation for new treatments for cancer, rheumatoid arthritis, hemophilia, and other diseases. An institution that evolved from the Scripps Metabolic Clinic founded by philanthropist Ellen Browning Scripps in 1924, the institute now employs about 3,000 people on its campuses in La Jolla, CA, and Jupiter, FL, where its renowned scientists—including three Nobel laureates—work toward their next discoveries. The institute's graduate program, which awards PhD degrees in biology and chemistry, ranks among the top ten of its kind in the nation. For more information, see www.scripps.edu.